Lexmark Platinum Pro905

The MFP is appropriately equipped for its business audience, including two 150-sheet, letter/legal stacked input trays. The top tray can fit snapshot-size photo paper, while the bottom one is removable. You also get a 50-page automatic document feeder and an automatic duplexer. The somewhat flimsy, 50-sheet output tray slides out from the cover of the top input tray, and can get in the way during paper refills. Media slots accommodate MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, SD Card, and XD-Picture Card; the unit also has a PictBridge port. Lexmark covers the Platinum Pro905 with a five-year parts and labor warranty as long as you register the MFP within 90 days of purchase.

Ink for the Platinum Pro905 is a sweet deal. A high-yield (510 pages), replacement-program black cartridge costs just $5; the color versions (600 pages) cost $18 each. On average that works out to 1 cent per text page and 10 cents per four-color page.

The Platinum Pro905 performed adequately in our tests. At default settings, it printed plain text at a midrange speed of 6.3 pages per minute, and various color graphics at a slower-than-average pace of 2.5 ppm. Most output looked good whether on plain or special paper, with the exception of flesh tones, which looked mottled and unnatural.

Lexmark's Platinum Pro905 all-in-one printer offers two good things for any small office: lots of paper handling and cheap ink. These attributes somewhat make up for the device's middling speed and print quality. Consider this MFP if you're intrigued by the SmartSolutions capabilities, especially the Web access--and if you have the resources to learn your way around them. With some patience and a sense of adventure, you could create some useful apps to make your work life easier.